Risk of adverse events with concomitant use of atorvastatin or simvastatin and glucose-lowering drugs (thiazolidinediones, metformin, sulfonylurea, insulin, and acarbose)

We examined a Food and Drug Administration database to determine the frequency of adverse events in patients taking both an hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor and an antidiabetic medication. We found that patients who had an adverse event while taking atorvastatin were 4.4-fold (95% confidence intervals 2.7 to 6.2) more likely to also be taking a thiazolidinedione than patients who had an adverse event while taking simvastatin.